Exoplanets

Also known as extrasolar planets, exoplanets are worlds outside of our Solar System. Astronomers have catalogued nearly 2,000 exoplanets in over a thousand solar systems since the first exoplanets were discovered in the early and mid-1990s. Due to their dimness compared to their host stars, their small size and light-years of distance, exoplanets are extremely difficult to observe and study. Telescopes have directly imaged only a score so far, and in little detail. Instead, the vast majority of exoplanets have been observed indirectly, most prolifically via the transit method, whereby a star's brightness dims ever so slightly as an orbiting exoplanet crosses it as seen from Earth. Astrophysicists study exoplanets to learn more about planetary formation and evolution scenarios and to draw comparisons between our Solar System and others. The question of the potential for other worlds to have conditions favorable for the development of extraterrestrial life is explored especially by the field of astrobiology. The discovery of Earth-like worlds remains a major goal of exoplanetary science. Most worlds on record are larger than Earth and have orbits much closer to their stars, which makes them easier to detect given the sensitivity of current instruments.

In this Kavli Q&A, astrophysicist Jacqueline Hewitt, director of the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, discusses how the TESS exoplanet mission has already changed the Institute and will bring about further evolution in the years to come.

The just-launched Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) could soon provide the breakthrough identification of dozens of potentially habitable exoplanets right in our cosmic backyard. Two TESS scientists—Greg Berthiaume and Diana Dragomir—provide an inside look at the mission's development and revolutionary science. ​

Three planetary formation experts — Kate Follette, Bruce Macintosh and Ruth Murray-Clay — joined a roundtable discussion on new ways of studying how planets form and whether they can explain the rise of our Solar System.

Legions of volunteer, 'citizen scientists' are training their eyes on the sky and sharing in the thrill of discovery. In this Kavli roundtable, Citizen science leader Chris Lintott joins Anupreeta More and Aprajita Verma of the Space Warps project to discuss the exciting endeavor.

A newfound alien world orbiting a small, nearby star could be one of the first exoplanets scientists get to investigate in detail. Two of the astronomers who made the discovery—MKI's Zachory Berta-Thompson and Elisabeth Newton–discuss what they might encounter there with Rory Barnes from the University of Washington.

On October 6, The Kavli Foundation hosted a Google+ Hangout to learn more about proposed High Definition Space Telescope, a kind of "Super Hubble" that could launch in the 2030s. We spoke with two of the proponents: Julianne Dalcanton of the University of Washington and Marc Postman of the Space Telescope Science Institute. This is a transcript of that discussion.

On October 6, The Kavli Foundation hosted a Google+ Hangout to learn more about proposed High Definition Space Telescope, a kind of "Super Hubble" that could launch in the 2030s. We spoke to Julianne Dalcanton of the University of Washington, who co-chaired the committee that put forward the proposal, as well as committee member Marc Postman of the Space Telescope Science Institute.

During a recent Google Hangout, three astrophysicists discussed what we can learn about the planets in other solar systems, and answer viewers' questions about how close we are to discovering other Earths. Read a modified transcript of their discussion.

On January 28, astrobiologists Jocelyne DiRuggiero and Christopher McKay discussed how microbiomes - the communities of microbes that inhabit different ecosystems - is driving the search for life elsewhere in the universe.